As an experienced DSLR photographer, I needed a small and simple do-all vacation camera that would work for both my wife and me. The Nikon L610 is a superb camera for its size and price and meets our needs perfectly. I suspect it will probably meet the needs of most casual photographers.

The quality Nikkor glass lens provides crisp and accurate images. The 14x zoom range is appropriate for most hand-held shots. The manual pop-up flash has a bit more output than most point & shoots and offers nice illumination. AA alkaline batteries are relatively long lasting (for still photos without flash) and can be purchased easily anywhere in the world. Regarding camera setup, for the vast majority of our photos, I select the AUTO setting and adjust the ISO sensitivity to 125 and simply point and shoot. The photos are very sharp with vivid color and we are pleased with the results nearly every time.

For what it’s worth, in reading some of the critical reviews on digital cameras, it seems the problems most people have occur in three areas: (1) battery life, (2) memory speed, and (3) user familiarity. Many seasoned photographers know that AA alkaline batteries offer the advantages of reasonably long life, affordability and availability — especially when traveling overseas. No chargers, no voltage issues, no waiting, just plug & play. For improved performance, I use non-rechargeable Energizer Lithium AA batteries in my L610. These offer hundreds of trouble-free shots and battery life virtually becomes a non-issue (about $6 for a 4-pack on Amazon). As to memory, my choice is the SanDisk Extreme Class 10. The high-speed data transfer rate this memory card offers is particularly important when shooting videos. The current price for a 32GB card is about $30 on Amazon (a 16GB card is about half this price).

As to ISO sensitivity, nearly every technical analysis of digital cameras shows image quality noticably degrades at settings above ISO 200 (ironically, similar results occur with film speeds). Unless there is a specific need, such as extremely low light or fast-action photography, lower ISO settings will give most folks much better photos under a broad range of conditions. Lastly, there is a lot of technology packed in these little automatic cameras. Obviously, we are much better off reading the camera user manual and becoming comfortable with the features and functions of these gadgets. As the saying goes, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

As an experienced SLR user who’s had his own darkrooms back in the dark ages, the L610 is the camera of choice to take along everywhere. Dr. A’s review is mandatory reading.

Having a an excellent camera which uses AA Lithium batteries is huge advantage for virtually all of us. Even the best rechargeable batteries on high end cameras- with twice the voltage, lose ~ 10 to 15% of their power a week. Having an excellent AA camera means never having to plug your camera into the wall and always having ~ 200 full power shots without fail.

There are several very compelling reasons to choose the Nikon L 610 over it’s competitors that use AA Lithium batteries, such as the the Canon PowerShot SX 160 – both of which I own- and have used extensively.

The optics on both are superb. Razor sharp pictures at all focal lengths and apertures. The Canon does have many more, user adjustable “high end” features than the Nikon, but the Canon SX 160 is crippled by some serious flaws.

The Nikon’s 3″ display is a brilliant, crystal clear 460,000 pixels versus the Canon’s 230,000 pixels- which appears truly muddy and dim in comparison to the display on the L 610.

The CMOS on the Nikon SX610 (which is the “film” on every shot) is much more sensitive in low light shots without a flash and produces noticeably brighter and sharper pics. (Think taking pics of the baby, or a portrait with window light from your back.)

The lag time between shots with the Nikon is also noticeably faster, because the Nikon has a “set up menu” option in it’s circuitry for the type of AA you’re using to select and use Lithium AAs.

Recommendations on setting up the L 610, even for the novice: choose “Auto”, not “Easy Auto” in the scene mode and set up your menu options THERE and leave the scene mode in “Auto” for virtually all of your shots. The “Auto” menu also lets you turn OFF things you’ll never want to use, such as the welcome screen, print date, AF assist beam, and, most of all, the killer of all clear pictures, digital zoom.

Finding the PDF manual for L 160 from Nikon’s site isn’t easy. This may help:

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Recommended accessories for the L610:

1- Lithium 9x AA batteries from Energizer. These make the “battery issue” simply disappear. Two will last for well over 200 shots- yes, there is a one to two second lag time as the flash recharges. Shop for quality and expect to pay ~ $1.90 per. I’ve had good results from Brooklyn Battery Works and Photo Land NY.

2- Memory Card- Get the best, a 16 gig San Disk Class 10 card with 45mb/Sec transfer rate. Greatly reduces lag time and this camera is set up for Class 10. 16gig capacity for ~ 2000 stills at full resolution or 32 gig if you’re going to shoot movies.

3- GGS 3″ Optical Glass LCD screen protector- it’s the best- but this is now a real moving target on Amazon. Make sure you get the original from GGS in the red and black retail package.

4- Camera Strap- Inexplicably, Nikon gives you a camera with two strap connection points for a “neck strap”, which you’ll want, but ships only a one point “wrist strap”. Solve this by ordering the slim two point neck strap that Nikon supplies for similar cameras: the Nikon AN-CP-23 strap. It’s an extra $11 well spent.Search it on Amazon.

5- Replacement USB cable- Confirmed by the tech staff at Mediabridge- the supplied Nikon UC-E6 cable is a Mini B with 8 pins- NOT the 5 pins found on every currently available aftermarket mini B. As of 9-03-13, the only replacement cable that works with the L 610- or any of it’s Power Shot cameras- is the OEM Nikon UC-E6. Hold off buying any replacement cable for Nikon Power Shots until Mediabridge give us the right one-the mini B with 8 pins, not 5- they’re working on it and they’re the best.

5- Camera Case- Tamrac makes the best cases- period. The Tamrac model 5292 fits the L610 perfectly and gives you room for 4 extra lithium AAs, the USB cable and extra memory cards. It’s also just tall enough for you to tuck in your aftermarket Nikon neck strap.

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